The Supply Department.
Page 21
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Selected Information which is likely to be of Interest to Makers, Owners, and their Buyers.
The " Faransure" Detachable Tire.
Users and advocates of the " grip section " type of solid-rubber tires will be pleased to learn that it is now possible to obtain such a tire in the construction of which most of the objections that may attend tha use of such tires have been eliminated. The form of the " Faransure " tire and its rim are clearly shown by the accompanying sectional drawing.
Fr a twin tire, the steel rim for each section (A) has but one flange rolled integral with it, whilst the other tlange (B) is a separate piece which may be bolted on after the rubber tire has been levered or hammered into position. Steel tubes, or bushes (C), are driven through the felloes of the wheel, and these tubes are tapped to receive steel set screws as shown.
The chief advantage attending the use of this rim lies in the fact that the tire need not be unduly stretched duting the operation of mounting, as is the case when an endless tire is stretched over the clinch of a channelsection rim' the base of the rubber section is, therefore, made much stronger in the " Faransure. " tire than is permissible in ordinary makes of grip section tires. The increased strength which is thus given to the base of the tire also tends to the avoidance of trouble arising from side-slip or skidding, both of which have been known to cause the tearing away of the tire from the rim. The Albion Motor Car Company, Limited, of Glasgow, in a letter which we received recently, accords high praise to this make of tire and rim, and we are of opinion that, for the Colonies and certain districts at home, they will meet the requirements of all who have suffered delay while wheels were being re-shod, or on account of the failure of such tires due to the excessive stretching of the rubber. Messrs. S. Stevenson and Company, of 50, Loran Street, Glasgow, the makers of this tire, is an old-established firm of wheelwrights, and they were one of the first firms in Scotland to adapt their manufactures to the needs of the motor industry. We are pleased to be able to record that they are now reaping the reward which is due to them for their enterprise. It will be remembered that " The Extractor " mentioned this tire in his account of the Edinburgh Show a couple of weeks ago. At that exhibition, a set was fitted to a 25cwt. Albion van.
Owners of vans cannot do better than obtain a copy of Messrs. Stevenson's illustrated catalogue.
A Magneto Switch Starter.
Sprained wrists and broken arms, the occasional results of attempting to tart an engine with high-tension magneto ignition only, need be things of the past if the magneto be fitted with the simple and practical form of starting switch that has been put on the market by the Simms Nlagneto Company, Lintited, of the WeIbeck Works, Kilburn, N.W. The arrangement consists of :
a special contact breaker fitted to the magneto; (2), the starting switch on the dashboard ; and (3), an ordinary accumulator. By means of the starting switch, which is connected to the accumulator and the contact breaker, a make-and-break current is caused to pass through the primary winding of the magneto, and this leads to the passing of an intense spark, in the cylinder which is set to " fire" at that particular moment, across the points of the sparking plug. If the cylinder is filled with an explosive mixture, the engine will invariably start, and will oontinue to run on the ordinary magneto ignition. If there i3 no gas in the cylinder, a gentle turn of the starting handle must be given to cause a full charge to be drawn in--the accumulator current, of course, being interrupted during this movement of the piston. This fitting should find many buyers.